Today we’d like to introduce you to DeAdrian Maddox.
Hi DeAdrian, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hello my name is DeAdrian Maddox. I am the Founder and CEO of DMX Consulting, LLC located in Frisco, Texas.
My mother always encouraged me to consider starting my own business. Like many, it was hard to imagine, because I was accustomed to being a valuable asset to the companies I worked for. As a result of my efforts, I received several awards, certificates, bonuses, and kudos for doing my part to keep the wheels turning in a huge organization. I have had a unique opportunity that has afforded me the chance to work in several states and across various industries (federal, state, municipal, and private sectors).
I worked and attended college simultaneously in my hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. I don’t list any of those early experiences on my current resume, like teacher’s assistant, receptionist, and retail salesclerk. It’s a colorful work history, but each distinct experience gave me the ability to see one thing — people are the most valuable part of every organization. After many years of corporate experience, it still holds true. Even with automation, technological advances, and digitalization, human interaction is required at some point in every process.
Prior to the pandemic and being required to work from home in March 2020, I thought my commute from Frisco to downtown Dallas was the worst part of my job. Once that requirement to drive, park, walk, work then rinse and repeat had been shaved down to just work, rinse, and repeat, I had more time to think about what I really want to do with the rest of my life. I was no longer frustrated by my horrible commute, I discovered I needed and wanted something different, something more.
As I’m pondering what I wanted to do, many of my friends, neighbors, and relatives were coming to me for advice on significant issues related to professional challenges and often career advice. The advice would flow from me so naturally, like how our bodies just automatically inhale and exhale. I would take in their questions and exhale the best advice I could give them. That’s when I began to realize what gave me life, having a positive impact on people around me. This realization doesn’t sound like rocket science, but I did have the awesome opportunity of working for NASA Marshall Space Flight Center as an internal HR consultant before the Space Shuttle Retirement.
Throughout the pandemic, I kept having these encounters and consulting and advising people on HR related issues. That’s when the light bulb went off: I could take my MBA from the George Washington University, certified HR training, job experiences plus life lessons, and provide a valuable service to companies and individuals in the same manner that I have done for friends and acquaintances for years. So armed with my faith and my abilities, DMX Consulting, LLC was born.
DMX Consulting is a play on the letters in my name, Dee Maddox. I have always believed that excellence requires consistency. I coined the phrase Demand Excellence in Everything You Do: Your D.E.E.D. to Success.™ When you define the word DEED, the two most common meanings are (1) deed = action and (2) deed = ownership. In an environment where teams are given the opportunity to own their success, and they are empowered to perform the necessary actions to achieve their goals, excellence is the result.
Since launching in January 2021, it has been exciting to work with both new and established businesses, ranging from solopreneurs to firms. The biggest reward is the satisfaction of working with my clients to achieve the results that they deserve. Things were slow to start, then as the world reopened, I was able to start networking and booked my first client and, as they say, ‘the rest is history.’
While working to develop my brand, I started to make some positive impacts. I was featured as a guest on the Craft of Consulting Podcast, Episode 111. Then in April 2021, I co-authored Celebrate Small Victories: Victory Through Adversity, Women’s Edition, Volume II. My contribution was a chapter titled, “God’s Perfect Timing.” Becoming an entrepreneur has been even more rewarding than I could have imagined. It is ‘perfect timing’ because this journey shapes the conversations that I am having with my kids. I want them to be owners and creators, the way my mother encouraged me. DMX Consulting, LLC is a new chapter in my life.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There are definitely some challenges involved with being an entrepreneur after two decades of being corporate. The main challenge that I find as an entrepreneur is getting businesses to see that the benefits of a consultant far outweigh the cost. Shifting their mindsets from “costs” to “making investments” is sometimes difficult. During consultations, I am able to identify a way to solve the problem presented, improve current conditions, or identify an issue that has not been discovered by the client. Building trust and credibility with clients and using new methods I designed, creates a new challenge for me.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
As Founder and CEO of DMX Consulting, LLC, I work with small businesses and have a passion for nonprofit organizations. I embrace the fact that people are the key to organizational success. All people, in every organization at all levels, deserve clear expectations and enforced accountability. These two non-negotiable factors are the way businesses can (1) avoid employee turnover,
(2) save money over time, (3) increase productivity, and (4) improve profits. I’ve designed my business to show you how. I am dedicated to helping organizations achieve success by maximizing employees’ capabilities. I believe that with the right tools, employees can achieve maximum performance levels. I also work with individuals on business planning, career transition, and custom human resource solutions. As a human resources expert, training, facilitation, and public speaking are also services that I provide for my clients.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is God and my family. What better way to honor God and leave a legacy for my family than to have a positive impact through my business and show my love for others through service. I make every attempt to demonstrate this when I volunteer in the community and serve at New Life Community Church.
I am an active member of several nonprofit organizations including the Collin County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the Junior League of Collin County. Community involvement excites me as a parent sitting on the Board of Trustees for the Frisco Education Foundation.
Balancing family, career, and community service is not easy. Having a supportive spouse like my husband Keith and my faith makes all of this possible. Setting a positive example for my children, Keith Jr. and Makenzi, makes it all worth it.
Contact Info:
- Email: dee@deemaddoxconsulting.com
- Website: https://deemaddoxconsulting.com/
- Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/dmxconsulting
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/dmxconsulting1
Image Credits
Simply Michail Media
Astute Lenz Photography
T. Hurley Photography
